Ramos open to idea of remaining a Phillie
PHILADELPHIA » He was picked for the last All-Star Game. He has hit .391 since the trade deadline. He has home run potential and shows power to the gaps, can throw, hit in the clutch and provide a veteran’s clubhouse presence.
And Wilson Ramos is about to become a free agent.
So? What’s next?
“I don’t know yet,” he said.
And there it was Monday, before a game against the Mets, one more entry on the Phillies’ list of offseason decisions.
Though Ramos did indicate he would welcome a return to Philadelphia, he also made one thing clear: Wherever he goes next season, he intends to be the No. 1 catcher, without asterisks, without any obligation to provide career guidance to a younger player. So Gabe Kapler continually touting Jorge Alfaro and some of his “incredible” talents, it is not a recruiting pitch likely to intrigue Ramos.
“Ah,” said Ramos, when the subject arose. “I have had a couple of years with the starting role. I am still young. I still have the tools to be behind the plate. I can be behind the plate every day. And I can still swing the bat really well.
“So I want to keep my starting job for next year, too.”
The idea of Ramos, 30, playing somewhere else next season was well in the Phillies’ consciousness when they borrowed him from Tampa Bay before the July 31 trade deadline for a player to be named later. They picked up what was left of his $8.5 million salary for the season, prepared themselves to wait a few weeks as he recovered from hamstring issues, and hoped he would provide more offense than Andrew Knapp in a rotation with Alfaro.
Having hit .391 in his first 22 Phillies games, Ramos had made it a worthwhile arrangement for all.
“I feel good here,” he said. “I am having a good time, trying to help this team. When I got traded, I got excited because this team was in first place. So that was a great opportunity to help this team, to help a young pitching staff, to make the playoffs.
“So that was a great, great moment for me.”
Sounded like a win-win … until the Phillies too often lost-lost and fell substantially behind the Braves in the NL East. Yet they were still mathematically alive as they welcomed the Mets Monday, and because they were, Kapler made good on his promise to give them the best chance he could to win. For that, Ramos was in, catching Jake Arrieta.
But Alfaro, 25, has been something of a franchise focus since arriving in the 2015 haul from Texas for Cole Hamels. He is not eligible for arbitration until 2021 and cannot be a free agent before 2024. If the Phillies are serious about spending $40 million apiece on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado next season, it would be reasonable if they settled on Alfaro as their No. 1 catcher at a bargain price.
“Jorge Alfaro is very close to being an elite pitchframer and an elite receiver, keeping balls in the zone, getting those borderline calls,” Kapler said. “I think he might be the strongest thrower in the game with incredible accuracy and release.” Ah. OK.
Ramos, though, is a twotime All-Star.
“I don’t think there’s anybody in baseball that wouldn’t like to have one of the better offensive catchers in the game,” Kapler said. “My job is obviously to manage the men we have in our clubhouse right now. But that’s something I trust 100 percent in our front office to sit down and analyze.”
Were the Phillies to try and re-recruit Ramos, they’d have to be assured of his health. Troubled all season by the hamstring, Ramos in recent weeks literally has been given the OK to trot to first during routine ground balls, a careerlengthening initiative.
“It is much, much better,” he said. “I can run a little bit harder. But I talked to my manager. Every situation where I have to run, I will do my best. If it is not necessary to run hard, I am not going to do it because I don’t want to get hurt running on a routine ground ball.
“I’ve been working hard on the weight room and getting my hamstring stronger. And it worked. I am feeling better. And I will try to go back out there and do my best.”
He has done fine for the Phillies, but is hesitant to look beyond the next two weeks.
“I am concentrating on finishing my season strong and healthy,” he said. “After that, you’ll see what happens. That’s my approach. I remember in 2016. I was almost in the free-agency market and in the last week of the season, I hurt my knee.
“So this year, I don’t want to think about free agency. I don’t want to feel like I did when that happened in 2016.”
He will maintain his options, which do include rejoining the Phillies.
“I believe in this team,” Ramos said. “I know we have young talent here, a good rotation, good arms, a good bullpen. And I would be happy to stay here because I already know those guys. I am starting to get on the same page with my pitchers. I am feeling more comfortable.
“So next year, if I stay here, I will keep doing my job, keep competing and keep trying to help this team win a lot of games.”